education views P BUENO Founder Receives High-Profile Award

S U M M E R
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education views
U N I V E R S I T Y O F C O L O R A D O AT B O U L D E R S C H O O L O F E D U C AT I O N
BUENO Founder Receives High-Profile Award
rofessor Leonard Baca is no stranger
designed to improve educational opportunito the awards scene, and he’s done it
ties for culturally and linguistically diverse
again. This time Baca earned a
students through teacher training and
Business Social Responsibility Award in
research projects.
memory and honor of Dr. Martin Luther
Established in 1976 with only Baca on
King Jr. for his extensive contributions to
staff, BUENO has now grown to include
multicultural education.
20 staff members and has generated $57
At a special luncheon titled
million in private and federal funding.
“Celebrating Content of Character” held
Under Baca’s direction, BUENO’s farreaching impact has changed thousands of
January 12 at the Denver Performing Arts
lives. Center programs have helped more
Center, businesses, non-profit organizathan 10,000 migrant farm workers earn
tions, and individuals such as Baca were
high school equivalency diplomas, provided
recognized for their commitments to the
Professor Leonard Baca
assistance to 1,200 bilingual and English as
values and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
a Second Language teachers, supported 400
King Jr.
paraprofessionals earning AA and BA degrees, and
Speakers and presenters included Governor Bill
funded 200 migrant workers in college programs. The
Ritter, Mayor John Hickenlooper, journalists Tamara
center has also supported 90 doctorates in bilingualBanks and Ernie Bjorkman, US Bank President Hassan
multicultural education.
Salem, and the Reverend Samuel Billy Kyles. Proceeds
Concerned about the large numbers of bilingual
from the event were donated to the Colorado
students placed in special education in the 1970s, Baca
Scholarship Coalition, the agency awarding Martin
pioneered a new field of research: Bilingual Special
Luther King Jr. scholarships to deserving youth.
Education. “Professor Baca is known nationally as the
A leader in higher education for over 35 years, Baca
father of bilingual special education,” according to Dean
is the founder and executive director of the BUENO
Lorrie Shepard. “By working at the intersection of these
Center for Multicultural Education, one of the nation’s
two areas, he has addressed both the over-identification
most widely known technical resource centers. It is
of second-language learners and the failure to serve true
special needs children who are non-English speakers.”
Baca is currently the co-principal investigator for a
research grant from the U.S. Department of Education
Students in BUENO’s College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) assemble at the
to study the Spanish version of the Colorado Student
School of Education to attend a scholarship workshop.
Assessment Program, or CSAP, and has authored numerous articles and books. His book, The Bilingual Education
Interface, is required reading in many college and university classrooms.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Business Social
Responsibility Award is sponsored by 15 Front Range
chambers of commerce and other partnerships, councils,
and bureaus.
Baca’s co-recipients included Alex Cranberg,
Margaret RedShirt Tyon, Rachel B. Noel, Civil
Technologies, Inc., Quest Communications, and the
Colorado Housing & Finance Authority.
BUENO’s
far-reaching
impact has
changed
thousands
of lives.
P
School of
EDUCATION
2
Message from the Dean
here’s been a lot of talk lately about tenure and
the university’s standards for awarding tenure.
The process that faculty members must go
through to receive tenure and promotion is rigorous.
I can update you with specific examples highlighting
the qualities of our current faculty evident in the
review process.
Tenure reviews occur during an assistant professor’s
seventh year. In addition, a comprehensive review is
conducted in the fourth year that mirrors nearly all of
the aspects of the tenure evaluation. Each faculty member prepares a dossier including detailed statements
explaining their work in teaching, research,
and service; student evaluations from their
courses; and copies of their publications. CU
requires “multiple measures of teaching,” so
in addition to student evaluations, faculty
also conduct peer observations of teaching
and phone interviews with former students
and advisees.
For tenure and promotion, faculty dossiers are
reviewed by six or more
scholars at other universities
who write confidential evaluations of the candidate’s
work. All of these materials
are then reviewed by a
faculty Evaluation Committee, the faculty, a dean’s level
review committee of faculty
from other units on campus,
the dean, a campus faculty
committee, the provost, and
the chancellor. At each stage a
vote is recorded and reported
back to the candidate. This
year the School of Education
had four faculty members who successfully
passed comprehensive review and two faculty
members who were promoted to full professor.
Derek Briggs was successfully reappointed as assistant professor in research and evaluation methodology.
His research has focused on Value-Added Modeling
and the development of diagnostic assessments based
on underlying learning progressions. Fittingly he won
AERA’s Mary Catherine Ellwein Outstanding
Dissertation Award in 2004.
Elizabeth Dutro works in schools serving high
concentrations of poor and minority children. She
studies the development of children’s identities and
the ways that classroom literacy practices can create
greater opportunities for participation. Professor Dutro
also works at the policy level, studying the ways that
state content standards in literacy lead to changes in
district-level curriculum and teacher professional
development. She was reappointed as assistant professor in literacy.
T
The purpose of this
newsletter is to stay
in touch with our
alums. Please send
an e-mail if you
would like to know
about a favorite
professor or tell
us about your
accomplishments.
We would love to
hear from you.
Susan Jurow was reappointed to her joint position
in educational psychology and instruction and curriculum. Professor Jurow studies how students learn
disciplinary content in math and science and how they
develop identities of competence in that content. She
is also highly skilled in qualitative methods and discourse analysis and helped to develop our new PhD
core curriculum courses in qualitative methods.
Brian Sevier, reappointed as assistant professor in
social studies, is also an expert in educational history
and gender studies. He has studied anti-racist curriculum from the 1950s and the normative challenges
faced by male teachers in elementary classrooms. Most importantly, he uses his own
classroom to examine how teacher educators
can better prepare future elementary school
teachers to work with diverse school populations through service learning and social
action projects.
Historian of education, Ruben Donato,
was promoted to full professor. An awardwinning teacher, Professor Donato
is also widely recognized for his first
book, The Other Struggle for Equal
Schools: Mexican Americans During the
Civil Rights Era, which documents
how Mexican American parents
fought for equal educational opportunities.
His most recent book
focuses on Mexicans and
Hispanos in Colorado
Schools and Communities,
1920–1960.
Janette Klingner is
a nationally recognized
expert in three fields:
special education,
bilingual education,
and reading. In voting to promote her
to full professor, the campus committee said they were
“stunned” by her productivity: books in 2005 and
2006, 5 books in press, 8 book chapters with 5 in press,
25 articles with more in press. More importantly,
Professor Klingner draws powerful connections between
theory and practice and speaks directly to teachers with
much of her work.
Obviously, I am proud of the wonderful faculty in
our community and pleased that they so admirably meet
the university’s standards.
Lorrie Shepard, Dean
[email protected]
Counterclockwise from top: Derek Briggs, Elizabeth Dutro,
Brian Sevier, Janette Klingner, Ruben Donato, Susan Jurow.
3
School of
EDUCATION
Making a Difference
Faculty Give Teaching Scholarships
ollectively they’ve given almost 90 years of their
professional lives to improving teaching and
learning, and now they have found one more way
to make a difference in the lives of education students at
CU-Boulder. Jacalyn Colt and Jaye and John Zola have
recently established scholarships to ensure that teacher
candidates are supported in their endeavors.
Colt and her husband, Jim, had been giving
Christmas gifts to relatives for years when they decided
to try something different. “This wasn’t working for
us,” Colt said, “so we started giving named contributions to other organizations instead.” This approach to
gift-giving evolved into a scholarship named for Colt’s
mother, Jeanette L. Dooley, in 2006.
As the literacy coordinator for St. Vrain Valley
Schools until her retirement last year, Colt saw a need
to improve literacy instruction in high-poverty schools.
The scholarship targets practicing teachers at Spangler
and Rocky Mountain elementary schools in Longmont
and pays full tuition, fees, and books in the CU-Boulder
master’s degree/endorsement program in K-12 literacy.
In exchange, the teachers agree to stay in those schools
for at least three years.
In designing the scholarship terms, Colt addressed a
serious issue facing schools today: keeping good teachers
in the profession, especially in the schools where they’re
needed most. “We want to keep experienced, highquality teachers at these schools,” Colt said. “Keeping
good teachers is the key.”
Four teachers are currently supported through the
Jeanette L. Dooley Scholarship.
Colt is part of the School of Education literacy faculty and currently teaches two courses in the master’s
degree program.
C
John and Jaye Zola travel extensively and consult with teachers worldwide. Here, they enjoy a break rug shopping in
Bahrain.
Jackie & Jim Colt (far left and far right) celebrate with Jeanette L. Dooley scholarship
recipients Jodie Cooper and Christy Bashor.
Also regular instructors in the School of Education,
Jaye and John Zola decided to show their appreciation.
“We wanted to do something to thank the School of
Education for providing us the opportunity to teach
prospective teachers,” they commented. “This has been
a very powerful and important part of our professional
lives.”
The Zolas’s scholarship, due to take effect next fall,
assists social studies teacher candidates during their student teaching semester, when financial need is highest.
“We want to support new social studies teachers
who, we hope, will continue our efforts to make the
subject engaging and meaningful for young adults,”
they said. “We also hope to support teacher candidates
who are under-represented in the teacher ranks.”
As master teachers and leaders in the field of social
studies, the Zolas have high hopes for their scholarship
recipients. “We hope that they will, in fact, bring social
studies alive in their classrooms in an effort to create
engaged citizens who understand their roles in our
democracy,” they said. “Too often, social studies is seen
as merely a collection of trivia. It should be one of the
most engaging and exciting disciplines in the school
day. We hope that recipients will make a commitment
to active, authentic, and student-centered instruction.”
Jaye and John Zola have taught in both middle and
high schools, and for nearly 10 years they job-shared
while raising their two sons. Jaye Zola spent the last
few years of her career as the head librarian of Boulder
High School. For the past three years, John Zola has
split his time between directing the Partners in
Education (PIE) Program at the School of Education
and teaching social studies at New Vista High School.
If you would like to learn more about supporting the
School of Education, contact Margot Neufeld, director
of development at 303-492-2990 or [email protected].
School of
EDUCATION
4
Fulbright Awards Link Faculty to
International Communities
ssociate Professors Michele Moses and Jeff
Frykholm have received Fulbright Fellowships to
share their work internationally and to exchange
ideas with scholars around the world.
Moses was recently named a 2007–08 New Century
Scholar. This arm of the Fulbright Scholar Program
brings 36 top international scholars together to collaborate on important global issues, 12 from the United
States and 24 from other countries.
A
Fulbright Fellowship recipients Jeff Frykholm and Michele Moses extend their work to
international audiences.
Moses’s own academic interests and accomplishments
are a perfect match for this year’s theme, “Higher
Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity.” Her
work focuses on educational equity issues related to
diversity and poverty, such as affirmative action and
welfare-to-work policies. In her book Embracing Race:
Why We Need Race-Conscious Education Policy, Moses
studies moral disagreements over controversial United
States education policies and the relationship between
moral disagreement and theories of justice.
As a New Century Scholar, Moses will study cultural
and societal norms that affect access and equity. She is
conducting a comparative analysis of affirmative action
in Brazil and the United States and will spend two or
three months in Brazil this summer.
Moses and other program participants will meet
three times this year in collaborative work groups and
write policy briefs and white papers on access and equity issues worldwide.
Moses is an associate professor in educational foundations, policy, and practice within the School of
Education, and is affiliated with the Education and the
Public Interest Center. She specializes in philosophy,
education policy studies, and ethics.
Frykholm’s knowledge of cutting-edge mathematics
curricula and teacher development earned him a
Fulbright Scholar award in Santiago, Chile, as a resident
math educator at La Universidad de Los Andes.
He accomplished a lot during his nine-month stay.
He team-taught Mathematics Content for Teachers and
Elementary Mathematics Methods courses, conducted
two seminars for 60 public school teachers on number
sense, supervised six master’s theses, and re-designed the
entire mathematics stream for the teacher education
program.
Of course Frykholm, too, benefited from the
exchange. “I learned that a lot of the problems are the
same [as in the United States],” he said. “Getting highly qualified teachers, preparing those people, and keeping teachers in the field are huge problems. There is so
much education to be done there. There are wonderful
people who think very deeply, but the issue is one of
practice. How do you bridge between the ideas they
know and what they can do? They have to live with a
national curriculum, huge classes, and a lack of
resources.”
If his own record is any indication, Frykholm is sure
to keep seeking answers to those questions. Well known
as an exceptional teacher, researcher, and school consultant, Frykholm’s work includes the integration of mathematics and science, the impact of reform-based mathematics curricula on teachers’ beliefs and practices, and
teacher professional development.
Frykholm recently completed a NASA-funded, integrated research and development project titled Earth
Systems Connections. He is also a co-investigator on a
five-year Interagency Education Research Initiative
(IERI)-funded project, Supporting the Transition from
Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning (STAAR), that
investigates the teaching and learning of algebra in the
middle grades.
The Fulbright Scholar Program for faculty and professionals is administered by the Council for
International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) under an
agreement with the U.S. Department of State.
S U M M E R
S E V E N T H
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A
S E R I E S
eye onresearch
Creating Coherent Formative and Summative
Assessment Practices
by Lorrie A. Shepard
New ideas about how to use formative assessment in classrooms to
enhance student learning must confront the ominous presence of summative assessment and grading. Because of the paramount importance of
grades, students worry about what will be on the test rather than thinking
about learning. They finish assignments to “be done” and don’t expect to
use this knowledge again. Worst of all, they’ve learned to pretend competence and hide their confusion from the teacher. Teachers likewise worry
about having a point system that can be defended to students and parents,
rather than seeing assessment as a means to illuminate learning goals and
further deep understanding.
Recent research has shown that formative assessment can be a powerful
tool to improve learning (Black & William, 1998). But to realize the full
potential of formative assessment requires a fundamental shift in how
learning goals are represented and how assessment insights are used. To
create a learning culture (Shepard, 2000) instead of a grading culture, students have to know why what they are studying is important and how it
connects to things that they’ve studied before. They need to gain experience talking about their thinking and trust that their teacher’s questions
are intended to help them learn.
Using sociocultural theory in classrooms
According to sociocultural theory, children develop cognitive abilities
through social interactions that let them try out language and practice
their reasoning. Instead of being born with an IQ of a certain size, children become “smart” through what Barbara Rogoff (1990) calls an
“apprenticeship in thinking.” In various learning contexts—talking at the
dinner table, helping in the kitchen, doing math in classrooms—learners
have both expert models and supports from adults or peers to enable them
to participate in that activity. This process of providing support to help
the learner attempt and then master increasingly complex tasks is called
scaffolding.
The steps in formative assessment are closely tied to the idea of scaffolding and Vygotsky’s (1978) zone of proximal development (ZPD). The
ZPD is the space between the student’s actual level of mastery, where he
or she can perform independently, and the level of potential development
where he or she can perform with help from adults or in collaboration
with peers. Similarly, Sadler (1989) offered a model of formative assessment where the learner has an understanding of the goal, is aware of his or
her present level of performance, and then takes action to close the gap.
Specific formative assessment strategies
In addition to the general notion that formative assessment is used to
“form” and “inform” learning, there are specific formative strategies that
have a solid foundation in learning theory and cognitive research.
Prior knowledge assessment. Learning occurs when students make
sense of new experiences and ideas and connect them to what they already
know. Effective instructional strategies, therefore, build on what students
already know. However, this means knowing more than students’ scores on
a pretest. Engaging with students’ relevant knowledge requires a qualitative understanding of students’ existing conceptions. What words do they
use to describe a phenomenon? How is “coherence” in writing like “cohesion” in chemistry? What have they learned about this topic in school?
What do they know about it in real life?
Feedback. We know that feedback is essential for learning, but surprisingly, in a comprehensive synthesis of 131 studies, Kluger and DeNisi
(1996) found that one-third of feedback studies showed negative effects.
According to Kluger and DeNisi, positive learning outcomes are more likely when feedback focuses on features of the task—such as how the student
can improve in relation to the standards—and emphasize learning goals
instead of lavishing non-specific praise or making normative comparisons.
Teaching for transfer. A goal of learning is for students to be able to
apply their knowledge in new contexts. Yet, this is often difficult for
novices because their knowledge is fragmented and tends to focus on the
surface features of problems. By contrast, experts have deeper and more
principled understanding. Just as prior knowledge techniques are intended
to help students “be more metacognitive” about their use of knowledge
resources, teaching for transfer also makes metacognitive goals explicit by
asking students to talk about how and whether they understand the principle that can let them generalize from one application to the next. “What
do we already know about fractions that can help us understand decimals?”
or “How is learning about ratios and proportions the same as—and different from—learning about fractions?”
Relevant to the idea of transfer is students’ often narrow conception
of what makes a test fair. A famous example is the physics student who
Cognitively-Based Formative Assessment Strategies
Prior Knowledge Assessment
When students share what they know about a topic when starting a unit of study, they learn that it
helps to think about what they already know when trying to solve a new problem.
Feedback
Focusing on features of the task, such as how to improve in relation to criteria and emphasis on
learning goals, results in positive learning outcomes. Lavishing non-specific praise or making
normative comparisons undermines learning.
Teaching for Transfer
Talking about how and whether students understand the principle can help them generalize from
one application to the next. A wide range of questioning in the classroom helps make students more
comfortable in the face of extensions, applications, reformulations, and connections.
Self Assessment
Students must think about and apply criteria in the context of their own work and thus learn to self
monitor and take responsibility for their own learning.
To create a grading system focused on attainment
complained that the class hadn’t yet learned how to
Grading That Supports Learning
of learning goals and at the same time allow for the
calculate the depth of a well (given the time it takes
learning potential of formative assessment, teachers
for a penny to reach the bottom) despite having prac• Make sure that grades are faithful representation of learning goals.
may literally have to abandon micro-managing point
ticed numerous problems with pennies dropped from
systems. To help students stay focused on substantive
the top of a building. While it would be unfair to sur- • Spell out what evidence of understanding
looks like.
feedback, teachers may need to postpone giving
prise students on a test with the first extensions and
• Focus instructional activities and assessgrades or use only student self and peer assessment
applications of what they had learned before, it is not
ments on rich and authentic tasks.
and, when needed, provide “as if” grades if students
unfair to ask for applications that are within the range • Emphasize the value of increasing one’s
are worried about how they will eventually measure
of transfer tasks that are routinely practiced in class.
skill and participation in an endeavor.
up to standards. Importantly, for formative assessSelf-assessment. Student self-assessment is not
• Focus on achieving competence: create a
learning environment that is intrinsically
ment to contribute to learning it must occur in the
about saving teachers from the work of grading
motivating and engaging for students.
midst of learning. That means that when pieces of
papers. In addition to acquiring specific knowledge
• Allow students to apply what they learn from
work are evaluated there must be subsequent occaand skills, becoming competent in a field of study
feedback: review how earlier assignments
sions for students to apply what they learned from
means learning and internalizing the standards by
are relevant.
feedback. This could be accomplished either by
which others in the discipline judge performance. The • Avoid “compliance grading”: using points to
allowing time for revision or by making transparent
process of self-assessment requires students to think
control behavior.
in subsequent units how earlier assignments are releabout and apply criteria in the context of their own
• For students who struggle, allow more time,
intermediate goals, and differential scaffoldvant (in prior knowledge conversations, for example).
work. In so doing, they make sense of and come to
ing.
In heterogeneous classrooms, grading in terms of
understand what the criteria mean in a deeper way
• Instead of extra credit, unrelated to student
mastery standards will require other support systems
than if they merely read posted grading criteria. This
mastery, allow replacement assignments or
for students of different abilities. These could include
kind of supported practice, where students learn
throw out poor scores when learning is veristrategies such as differential pacing for learning and
strategies to monitor their own learning, helps develfied by later assessments.
timing of formal assessments; identification and
op students’ metacognitive abilities. At the same time,
assessment of intermediate, attainable goals; and differential scaffolding.
self-critique can increase students’ responsibility for their own learning and
If taken seriously, the commitment that grades represent attainment of
make the relationship between teacher and student more collaborative.
learning goals would mean doing away with compliance grading, like
Rich embodiment of learning goals
giving points for turning in note cards. Instead, the benefits of assignments that enable performance on culminating assignments should be
Assessment cannot promote learning if it is based on tasks or questions
made transparent for students. Rather than allowing mindless extra-credit
that divert attention from the real goals of instruction. Historically, tradipoints, better ways to soften student worries about grades would at the
tional tests have often misdirected instruction, if they focused on what was
same time provide opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery—
easiest to measure instead of what was important to learn. Similarly, all of
e.g., replacement assignments and replacement tests or throwing out poor
the nurturing and insightful formative assessment processes thus far envitest scores when learning is verified by later assessments.
sioned will be undone if learning activities encourage rote learning or if
Ultimately our goal is to develop a learning culture where the normagrading practices misdirect effort. To be mutually supportive, formative
tive practices in the classroom make it normal and customary to learn
and summative assessments must be conceptually aligned. They must do a
from mistakes, to critique one another so that our reasoning can improve,
good job of representing important learning goals and should use the same
and to develop in students a clear, internal sense of pride and accomplishrange of tasks and problem types to tap students’ understandings.
ment on the occasions when summative demonstrations of achievement
Summative assessments can be thought of as important milestones on the
are needed.
same learning trajectories that undergird formative assessment.
Summative assessment and grading
Keeping instructional activities and assessments focused on rich and
authentic tasks and making sure that grades are faithful representations of
achievement are the first requirements for a grading system that supports
learning.
Just as important as content, however, is the effect of grading practices
on motivation and interest. The use of grades as rewards contributes to
what Lave and Wenger (1991) termed the “commoditization of learning”
(p. 112). When there is no “cultural value” for increasing one’s skill and
participation in an endeavor, the only reason to participate is to obtain
surface knowledge that can be displayed for evaluation. As explained by
Stipek (1996), rewards work to decrease intrinsic motivation when they
are perceived as controlling and are not directly related to successful performance. Consistent with the positive findings from research on feedback,
rewards or praise that convey positive information about competence are more
likely to increase intrinsic motivation.
Thus, both the cognitive and motivation literatures argue for a
standards-based grading system that focuses on achieved competence.
Unfortunately, this recommendation is inconsistent with data showing
that most teachers, at least in the United States, tend to also consider
effort, improvement, ability, and behavior when determining grades.
Often grading practices reflect what I call “compliance grading” such as
points given for turning in homework or even giving points for bringing
a pencil to class. Teachers also tend to adopt safety-net or peacekeeping
mechanisms such as extra-credit points that typically do not connect back
to the original learning goals.
Note
Adapted from Shepard’s article by the same name in Orbit: OISE’s
Magazine for Schools, 36(2), 2006, and from the original work in Shepard,
L.A. (2006). Classroom assessment. In R. L. Brennan (Ed.), Educational
measurement (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
References
Black, P., & William, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning.
Assessment and Education: Principles, policy and practice, 5(1), 7–75.
Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effect of feedback interventions
on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary
feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 254–284.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social
context. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sadler, R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional
assessments. Instructional science, 18, 119–144.
Shepard, L. A. (2000). The role of assessment in a learning culture,
Educational Researcher, 29(7), 4–14.
Stipek, D. J. (1996). Motivation and instruction. In D. C. Berliner and R.
C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp. 85–113). New
York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5
School of
EDUCATION
Science Educator’s Influence Spans Decades
fter 43 years in science education (42 of them at CU),
Professor Ron Anderson is retiring. Students and
colleagues know him as a proponent of innovative,
reform-based science teaching, a professional
commitment that has not waned since he held his first
academic post in 1964 at Kansas State University.
Anderson’s research, teaching, and service have
touched thousands of students, practicing teachers, and
colleagues. His signature style has been to help educators
develop both research-based and personal approaches to
becoming the best teachers possible.
Former student Paul Stecina said that he wouldn’t be
where he is today without Anderson’s support. A science,
math, and technology teacher at Erie High School for 10
years, Stecina credits Anderson with seeing not only his
potential, but also “the person behind it—motivated,
excited, and passionate about making a change in the
lives of students in our community.” Stecina said, “Ron
was a major influence on my career . . . his guidance,
influence, and advice saw me through the earliest and
most delicate period of my career—its origin.”
Dr. Janet Carlson Powell agrees. Now the associate
director and chief science education officer at the
Biological Science Curriculum Study in Colorado
Springs, Powell had the good fortune to have Anderson
as her doctoral advisor and mentor.
“Ron was the rare faculty member who honored the
experiences one brought into the program and quietly
made opportunities available that built upon those experiences,” Powell said recently. “He leads and mentors by
example, not by preaching or bullying. He let me learn
from my own mistakes, but didn’t let me go forward
blindly. I graduated from CU having learned that sometimes what Ron doesn’t say is more important than what
he does say, that family is more important than career,
and that work well done contributes to one’s character.”
Anderson’s teaching assignments have included
Methods and Materials in Secondary School Science for
teacher candidates, Modern Trends in Teaching for
master’s degree candidates in all fields, and a seminar
in science education for PhD students.
Anderson also supervised teacher candidates during
their student teaching semesters, and facilitated a partner-school program at West Middle School in the Denver
suburb of Cherry Creek that brought practicing teachers
and student teachers together in a seminar designed to
improve student learning.
Anderson’s research agenda has focused on policy and
reform that influence how teachers like Stecina approach
their work. He has directed projects funded by the
National Science Foundation and by the U.S.
Department of Education that examined the effects of
curricular programs in science, instructional approaches,
teaching techniques, and teacher education programs. To
this end, he has conducted meta-analyses of over 700
research projects and case studies of schools engaged in
successful science education reforms.
A
Now that he’s retiring, Ron Anderson (foreground) has more time to enjoy with his family, such as at this backyard barbeque.
Never one to be satisfied only with specialized journal
publications, Anderson has targeted practitioner audiences
directly. A co-authored book, Local Leadership for Science
Education Reform (1995) interprets a variety of research and
makes specific recommendations for local school leaders.
Anderson’s recent work on educational change has
extended into religion. Through work sponsored by the
John Templeton Foundation, he is contributing to a book
of case studies on religion and teaching.
Anderson said that his most significant professional
experiences have come about through his affiliation with
the National Association for Research in Science
Education (NARST), of which he was president. In fact,
he hasn’t missed a single NARST conference since 1965.
For all of his efforts, Anderson has seen some positive
changes in the way science is taught. “Things have
changed positively in a very gradual way,” Anderson said.
“Now we see more of an emphasis on ‘science as inquiry,’
a more constructivist, hands-on, minds-on approach to
science teaching.”
Although Anderson has been in the forefront of science
education movements, his current advice to practicing science teachers is probably very similar to what he might
have said back in 1964. “I would say, try to maintain that
connection between the content and the students. It’s easy
to go off in one direction or another. But it’s so important
to keep kids actively engaged.”
That Anderson himself modeled that connection is part
of his legacy. According to Powell, “My life, and that of
many other students and teachers, is better because of Ron
Anderson’s contributions to science education and the
University of Colorado.”
Anderson lives in Beulah, Colorado (west of Pueblo),
on 65 acres of forested land. Two sons and their families—
including five grandchildren—live on adjoining properties. As for his retirement, he is starting a Christian retreat
center, plans to continue hunting and hiking, and has
resolved not to take up golf.
NONPROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
BOULDER CO
PERMIT NO. 257
School of
EDUCATION
School of Education
University of Colorado at Boulder
124 Education Building
249 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0249
Pension Protection Act Benefits Donors and CU
ationwide, donors often report that one of the
greatest joys in making a charitable gift is seeing
that gift “in action”—supporting the institution
to which the donor is committed. In fall 2006, the
president signed into law the Pension Protection Act
of 2006, which offers charitably minded individuals a
golden opportunity to make gifts from their IRAs,
making it even easier for donors to witness first-hand
their gifts at work.
This new law provides an exclusion from gross
income for otherwise taxable IRA distributions of up to
$100,000. Plan owners who are at least 70 1/2 years old
can make charitable contributions in 2007 from traditional and Roth IRAs. Here are some specifics:
• In 2007, you can transfer up to $100,000 to the CU
Foundation, as long as you are 70 1/2 when you make
the transfer. You can designate the School of
Education as the recipient of your gift.
N
• Also, at 70 1/2 you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMD) from your IRA, regardless of whether or not you need the money. A distribution to the CU Foundation can cover or count
toward your RMD.
• Although you will not receive an income tax deduction, you will never need to pay income tax on the
withdrawal either.
If you would like more information on making a gift
through the Pension Protection Act, or any other instrument, please contact Margot Neufeld, director of development at the School of Education at 303-492-2990 or
[email protected].
Published by the School of
Education, University of
Colorado at Boulder
www.colorado.edu/education
Lorrie A. Shepard, Dean
Linda Molner Kelley,
Newsletter Editor
303-492-6937
Editing, Design, and
Production: Linda Besen,
Lynn Reed, and Denise Munn,
Publications and Creative
Services
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